After threat to cut funding, Regents president promises to investigate regental diversity offices

Pat Powers

In the Aberdeen American News, and as related by CampusReform.Org, Board of Regents President Kevin Schieffer has promised that he will investigate allegations of bias in diversity offices on college campuses:

Kevin Schieffer revealed the opening of an inquiry into campus diversity offices in a guest column for Aberdeen News.

The letter comes a month after conservative lawmakers in the state sent a letter to the Board of Regents, slamming the campus diversity offices for promoting “social justice causes,” and even threatening to slash funding for the offices, as Campus Reform reported.

“It is our hope that the Diversity Offices and related programming will make the proper shift,” the lawmakers said in that letter. “However, if the current trend continues and Diversity Offices are not reformed…the legislature may be forced to explore options such as Tennessee has adopted that remove funding for these offices all together.”

and…

The Republican lawmakers wrote in their June letter that diversity offices at South Dakota public universities will be allocated $5.9 million for FY 2019.

Read it all here.

The Board of Regents is once again going to “self-investigate?”  Is this going to be kind of like when USD investigated allegations against themselves over Hawaiian Day?

And, the same Board of Regents who earlier told legislators that they didn’t “have programs or courses that focus exclusively on social justice, diversity or multiculturalism.” Except, where they do.

Similar to when SDSU President Dunn declared to a legislative committee that SDSU had “no safe zones.”  … Except, that wasn’t entirely a correct statement.

Now, the Board of Regents is once again going to command their own investigation of themselves in an effort to preserve $5.9 million in funding for diversity offices, and prove they don’t have a liberal bias.

I just can’t wait.   I’m sure we’ll all be holding our breaths for the results.

12 thoughts on “After threat to cut funding, Regents president promises to investigate regental diversity offices”

  1. If there is going to be a budget crunch this year, here is a good place to start. The regents though will never agree to this. The legislators need to simply defund this!

  2. I would think the BO would be more concerned about the drop in enrollment on every university in SD except DSU. I do like what Kevin Schieffer had to say, “We oppose proposals to create a new bureaucracy of university officials to fund and manage speech. Free speech is important to education. Forced speech undermines it.” Good critical thinking Kevin.

  4. Great point Pat. These internal “investigations” are a joke. Time for outside investigators to get involved here. The amount of corruption and back-slapping and self-congratulation among university administrators is very high. The legislature should just cut the $6 million wasted on left-wing diversity offices which just employ radical liberals and America haters

    1. I am all for cutting spending but name the radical liberals and American haters that are employed at SD Universities. So Vic, what is your real name? Pat you really should follow the same guidelines that newspapers do. What is so difficult about putting your name next to your statement.

      1. Its a known fact that leftwingers will attack you personally, camp out on your front lawn, dox your name and address publically, take a pot shot at you, attack you while in your car, vandalize property.

        Hmmm, why else would I not put my real name here?

        1. Oh quit being a chicken. They are harmless. You let them win by staying anonymous.

  5. “diversity” experts in these offices are all left-wingers who just create fake episodes of bias and generally harass decent students. They all need to be fired. Use the money to fund real classes on campus

  6. I don’t even understand what a Diversity office is supposed to be doing. Why fund them at all?

    1. Diversity offices are funded due to accreditation guidelines. How those offices function are guided by the Board of Regents and school administration’s interpretation of those guidelines.

      “South Dakota State University (SDSU) has been accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) since 1916.

      HLC’s Criterion 1. Mission
      1.C. The institution understands the relationship between its mission and the diversity of society.

      The institution addresses its role in a multicultural society.
      The institution’s processes and activities reflect attention to human diversity as appropriate within its mission and for the constituencies it serves.

      Criterion 3. Teaching and Learning: Quality, Resources, and Support
      3.B. The institution demonstrates that the exercise of intellectual inquiry and the acquisition, application, and integration of broad learning and skills are integral to its educational programs. – The education offered by the institution recognizes the human and cultural diversity of the world in which students live and work.

  7. My guess if you want to attain accreditation and federal grants and loans you are required to have diversity offices.

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